Pokemon Emerald Version
by OnTheCobb
Summary: Was there ever a game you could never beat as a kid, no matter how hard you tried, so you just gave up and moved on? Only... you didn't move on. The failure ate away at you for years, festering, rotting, until you couldn't stand it, and the only thing to do was to - hey, they have a Pokemon Emerald emulator online! My goal, the seven Gold Symbols of the Battle Frontier.
1. First Day

**Pokemon Emerald Version**

* * *

In-between working and typing, I need a way to pass the time. Something nostalgic, but tedious enough to keep me entertained.

Lo and behold, there's an emulator for Pokemon Emerald Version.

Loved this game when I was younger. Could never beat the battle frontier - well, that's not exactly right. It would be more accurate to say that the game would never let me beat the battle frontier it was so tough. Also, I was a stupid kid back then, I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know bug types were super effective against psychic and dark types? In what realm does that make sense!? And I taught Blaziken Cut and Rock Smash like a dumbass. I think I actually took over from my sister's save file the first time. I was a selfish stupid kid. Don't do that anymore.

The second time was all me, but I only ever made progress with the battle frontier after trading a pokemon with a friend of mine. He gave me a Tyranitar and I gave him a Magikarp.

I was a real piece of work back then. (¬‿¬)

Anyway, with Tyranitar in hand, I got four symbols. The Battle Factory (Tyranitar didn't help me there), the Battle Pike, the Battle Palace, and the Battle Pyramid. Silver Symbols only. Forget about gold. Eventually I just stopped playing only to remember how good a game it was, pick it up, and try again... but the internal clock battery died. And I lost my DS Charger.

Fast forward to today. I'm smarter. I can beat the Battle Frontier. Maybe. NO! I _will_ beat the Battle Frontier. Seven Gold Symbols or bust, baby. This is an unsettled challenge that needs to be done. What would Ash Ketchum say? Other than, 'I'll win the next pokemon league.'

Screw it. I'm going for it.

But before the Battle Frontier, I have to beat the Elite Four. And I need to craft the perfect team from the start, or else it'll be a hundred times harder. I need a balanced team of badass pokemon with varied moves (that are not HMs, god forbid). It promises to be a long, gruelling road.

But I'm gonna do it.

And I'm gonna write out my journey as it happens. Not characters or whatever, just snipets, like Emerald Version on fast forward. Of course, there'll be comedy too. This is pretty much pure thoughts of someone playing this game. It's not gonna replace my other story, it's just fun writing.

So join me on this Pokemon Journey and soak in the nostalgia, pokemon fans! Will I beat the Battle Frontier? Or will I rage quit and give up?

Let's find out.

* * *

**FIRST DAY**

* * *

Are you a boy or a girl?

Boy.

Name?

...COBB.

Wait, no.

Cobb.

There we go. Why is everything automatically uppercase all the time? Yes, I will take a TORCHIC, no need to go all cap lock on me.

And yes, I'm taking Torchic, cuz it evolves into freaking Blaziken. Fire and Fighting type covers the most bases. Even as a kid, I always chose this thing. I had _some_ sense, at least.

Okay, prolonged tutorial, can't run without special shoes, professor getting attacked by a Zig-raccoon. Torchic kills it. Blah blah blah.

Find May - sorry, MAY - fight Mudkip because rival gets Pokemon with type advantage. Yadda yadda.

Okay! Time to catch the pokemon that will make up my super team.

But... should I indulge in the catch-em-all mindset, knowing full well I will never truly catch them all in this emulator?

...

Psh, of course!

Zigzagoon. Poochyena. Wurple. Lotad. Have to make due with them as a temporary team until I get to the real pokemon I want. I have a few in mind, but for now they'll work.

Petalburg City. Meet up with Wally - sorry, WALLY. Help him catch a... Ralts!? Oh, come on! He gets a Ralts on the first try? It's a 4% pokemon, that's just cheap. I don't care if he's sickly, I'm never whiting out to this kid.

But actually... would a Ralts be a bad pokemon to have? I've never bothered to keep one in my party they were so rare and I was an impatient kid. But now...

...4%.

Eh, what the hell, I need to grind anyway. I'm catching me a Ralts.

* * *

Wally, eat your heart out.

Ralts completes my temporary team of six. Most of these pokemon won't last the gruelling training regime I have planned. Only the strongest will survive. The others will be fodder to be KO'd while I potion heal the good ones. Just like how the game developers intended.

Speaking of game developers, I'm not sure how to save this game emulator. If it doesn't save I'll have spent an hour catching a Ralts for nothing. That scares me. I don't even know how to save.

...

Probably would be smarter to figure this out early, but I'm too wrapped up in nostalgia to think sensibly. I'll just keep going and pray I can save my file without everything getting deleted. It'd be Pokemon Gold Version all over again.

Anyway, my Gym Leader dad won't - sorry, DAD - won't battle me unless I have four badges. Kind of pointless seeing how his pokemon are probably lvl 30 while mine are 10 at best. Of course I'm not gonna fight you, idiot. I'll go pick on those Aqua Supremacists in the Petalburg Woods instead. But not before catching more Pokemon!

Marill. Taillow. Wingull. Shroomish. Cascoon. Silcoon. Couldn't get a Slakoth, but there's always next time.

I need to strategize my team, though. I know Roxanne - sorry, ROXANNE - uses rock types, because every gym leader has a pun on the type they use. It would be more subtle if her name was Boulder - sorry, BOULDER. Anyway, I'm facing rock types, and I remember Nosepass is her ace. Every Gym Leader has an ace pokemon stronger than the others. They too believe in separating fodder pokemon from the real champions.

So, my team. My Wurple evolved into a Silcoon, then a Beautifly, which sadly I'm keeping for now. Gotta stick with Ralts. My best bet is Wingull's Water Gun and Lotad's Absorb. Ralts' Confusion is pretty tough too. Those three will be my frontline.

Battle begin.

* * *

It was close, but I didn't die. Stone Badge, get. Now I can use Cut. Dumped that HM into my Zigzagoon. No way am I tainting my future Blaziken with that.

More Team Aqua shenanigans in the Rustturf Tunnel. Caught Whismer and Nincada. Might need Nincada later as a secret weapon. And an Abra! These things teleport away so fast I'm suprised I caught one. Not keeping it, just suprised I got one. No Skitty. A pity.

Okay, hitch a boat ride to Dewford. Brawly - BRAWLY - hmm, I wonder what Pokemon he uses?

Ralts will be the star this time. I need to train her up. Wingull has Wing Attack. Torchic's Ember is pretty good. Heck, even Beautifly's Poison Sting can whittle him down. Fighting type moves aren't effective against Bug types, let alone Flying Bug types. I got this in the bag.

* * *

...I whited out.

He powered up with Bulk Up and had a potion or two. Darn it.

Goodbye money.

Next time for sure.

* * *

Got it. Knuckle Badge is mine. Flash too. It pains me, but I have to teach it to Ralts. At least until I get to the move deleter. Pretty sure he lives in Lilycove, all the way on the opposite side of the map.

It sucks, but Ralts doesn't have many good moves anyway. Now, Ralts can Flash whoever she wants, whenever she wants.

Granite Cave next, because one of the Pokemon I want for my team is in there.

Aron.

Steel types aren't as good without the existence of Fairy types, but this thing evolves into a real powerhouse. Aggron. Plus, it'll be interesting having a tough, defensive pokemon. It'll be a lot of work, but it'll pay off in 50 levels or so.

Caught Zubat and Makuhita as well.

My party is changing. Torchic, Wingull, Aron, Ralts, Beautifly, Zigzagoon. My Lotad evolved into Lombre and I'm keeping it, but for now it stays in the PC. It won't be a good match against the next gym anyway.

Leave Dewford for Slateport. More beating up Team Aqua as they do the unthinkable crime of... visiting an Ocean Museum, what? Actually, Team Aqua is pretty chill. I don't remember them being this nice. Their leader is polite too. It's really weird. They want to drown the world, but they're pretty nice about it.

I don't know, I think I'd want to join Team Aqua. I can swim. Just wait until I get Surf first, though.

Okay, more traveling, more catching. Plusle and Minum, Gulpin, Oddish... Electrike? I do need an electric type for my team. Might as well be it. Plusle and Minum are garbage and there aren't any Voltorb around right now. Welcome aboard Electrike.

Ralts evolved into Kirlia. Torchic evolved into Combusken. Battled my rival again and won.

Regretable, but I had to drop Beautifly from the main team. Bug types are pretty weak, and there aren't many strong Bug type moves in gen 3. Nothing personal. Electrike took its spot. Zigzagoon is keeping pace. Helps that I have EXP share. I also can't ditch Zigzagoon when it knows Cut and I need the item behind a tree.

Trick House, then Mauville for my third badge. Oh look, its Wally! And he's trying to convince his father that he can take care of himself and that his sickly self can go on an adventure with his unbeatable Ralts by his side. And he wants to challenge me to show his dad how capable he is?

It would be a real dick move to crush him.

But then I remember the hour it took to catch a Ralts and the ten seconds it took him to catch his...

* * *

Both his pokemon and dreams were crushed in the span of ten seconds.

Yeah, he literally just accepted to go back to Verdanturf Town after losing. Sheesh that was hard to watch. I felt pretty bad. Was I supposed to lose on purpose? No, no the game wanted me to crush his dreams. The developers are the monsters, sitting in their thrones, watching us like emperors over the gladiators. They set the lions on us and watch for their own amusement. They're sadists too with how they made catching a Feebas.

Anyway, I've played long enough. Time to address the save file issue.

Read the instructions. Says to download the file onto something to save it. Clicked download, saved it under a name. Then clicked upload and... why did the game just reset?

No...

No, no, no, no!

MY TEAM!

MY TE - oh, wait, hang on. There's the file!

It works!

Holy Crap, it works!

Now I can just download and upload any time I want. How convenient! Whoever made this emulator is a a hero.

Anyway, first day done. Time to sleep, perchance to dream.

* * *

**AN: This is just extra writing. No plot, no characters, just glorious word vomit.**


	2. Second Day

Uploaded the save file, fine. Gonna keep it going.

* * *

SECOND DAY

* * *

Last left off in Mauville City. The Gym Leader Wattson - sorry, WATTSON - uses electric types and his ace is Manectric. This is gonna be tricky since I don't have any ground types in my party and the only ground type move I got is Zigzagoon's Mudslap, too weak. Electrike should be able to tank some electric type moves, though, and Combusken's Ember and Double Kick can take out Magneton. My Pokemon are a bit under-leveled, but it's six against four.

I got this.

* * *

I whited out.

Darn. Goodbye Money.

It was that fricken Manectric at the end. Kept paralyzing my pokemon and lowering their attack. And WATTSON used like twenty Super Potions. Even when I paralyzed it with Electrike it didn't help. I also don't have any revives, so when they're dead they're dead.

No problem though. That was just the test run. Next time for sure.

* * *

I whited out.

Uuuuuugh. Of course it would get a crit in that situation. I'm blowing too many Super Potions and Parlyz Heals. Goodbye Money. It would be different if I had a ground type, but I don't. No Geodude. The only ground type I've caught so far is...

Nincada.

That's it!

* * *

I whited out.

Okay, so it wasn't it.

There was one shining moment where I swapped out to Nincada and Manec-dick's Shock Wave couldn't hurt me, but then it used Quick Attack and one shot my lvl 6 Nincada. In hindsight, I should have trained him more.

Goodbye Mone - actually, how much money do I lose every time I white out?

...

HALF!?

I LOSE HALF OF EVERYTHING WHEN I WHITE OUT!?

That is so cheap! I shouldn't be having so much trouble on this Gym! If I could get a ground type, this would be nothing, but of course all the closest ground types are in the desert, and I can't get there unless I have Rock Smash, and that HM is only available AFTER I beat WATTSON!

NGGGGHHHHH!

THAT TEARS IT!

Time for my secret weapon!

I took Nincada to Route 117, gave it the EXP Share, and had Combusken up front. I don't have the money for potions and junk anymore. Luckily, ZIgzagoon's Pick Up ability makes for a convenient source of items. Repels, Pokeballs, Antidotes, Potions. It helps. At least he chips in, unlike my other pokemon. Looking at you Electrike.

Anyway, I spent an hour or two fighting on Route 117, catching the pokemon I could. Illumise, Seedot, and... Volbeat? That's a suprise, they're usually 1%. Then again, with how much time I spent farming EXP...

Anyway, I leveled up Nincada to lvl 19, then went back to the Pokemon Center and opened up a space in my party. Then I took Nincada to lvl 20.

It evolved into Ninjask. No longer a ground type, but that wasn't the point. I got a Shedinja.

Time for Operation Wonder Guard.

* * *

Finally! I beat WATTSON.

Who knew winning was as easy as having a pokemon that his ace could never hit with any attack. Sure, Shedinja got paralyzed, but other than that it was invincible. Thank you Wonder Guard. Only super-effective moves can hit, and I battled enough times against Manectric to see its moveset.

Is it cheap? Absolutely. You know what else is cheap? Having two smashable boulders blocking the desert!

The Dynamo Badge is mine. All mine. So is Rock Smash. Taught it to Zigzagoon. He's my HM dump I think. Planning to teach it Strength when I get it so my other pokemon are free to learn useful moves. Like Combusken's Bulk Up. Young me would never have a move that didn't cause damage, but present me is smarter and sees how useful the move can be, especially at the start of a long battle. Battle Frontier better watch out.

Now I can finally go to the desert and get the pokemon I've been looking to add to my team! Smashed right through those boulders and went to the desert - what do you mean I need special goggles to enter?

* * *

Okay, I guess I'm putting off the desert for a little while longer. A shame, since ground types would have also been useful against the fire type gym next. Oh well!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

I got the Macho Brace from beating the Winstrate Family, but I don't know exactly how it works. Does it double EXP or something? I tried it out. Nope. Whatever, it has to be useful for something. I'll give it to Aron.

Left Shedinja behind. Wonder Guard is useful, but it would never last in the Battle Frontier. Bug types are still too weak. Nothing personal.

Caught a Numel. Then had to take a detour since Team Magma showed up. Oh, yeah. Team Magma. The guys that want to make a volcano erupt and probably doom Lavaridge Town. They also say they're the good guys.

Sorry, Team Aqua has already won me over.

Anyway, they're blocking the cable car, so I have to take a detour through the Fiery Path, catching a couple of Pokemon along the way. Machop, Torkoal, Slugma, Koffing. No Grimer yet. This is great training for my Wingull. It's the only strong pokemon I've got with a water type attack. Perfect for the fire type gym. And, sure enough, I leveled it up into Pelipper. Even taught it Protect. Why not, it might come in handy.

On to Route 113. Spinda and Skarmory were caught. Neat.

Fallarbor Town. There's nothing in Fallarbor Town. I don't care about the Battle Tents. They're pale imitations of the Battle Frontier.

Route 114. Swablu and Seviper. I'm happy I caught a Seviper, those things are usually rare. Moving right along.

Meteor Falls. Caught a Solrock and fought Team Magma, but they made off with Professor COZMO's Meteorite, which they plan to use to power up a Volcano and cause it to erupt...?

Seeing one or two holes in this plan, but whatever, they're not blocking the cable car anymore, so up to Mt. Chimney we go!

Rather than backtrack through Fallarbor, I go south to Rustboro, then east to Verdanturf, Mauville, then north. It's faster. I got up the cable car and fight off a bunch of Magma grunts as well as Admin Tabitha... wait, is that a boy or a girl? Tabitha sounds like a girl's name, but the sprite looks like a guy. Why didn't Professor Birch ask this guy if he was a boy or a girl? It's gotta be a guy. I need to look this up, since it's bugging me. Put your crazy meteorite-volcano plan on hold Maxie, I need to check this.

...

Yeah, Tabitha is a dude. Knew it.

Okay, now I can stop Maxie. His Camerupt is no match for my Pelipper.

Team Magma flees and I continue to Lavaridge Town down the Jagged Pass. Spoink is mine.

* * *

Lavaridge Town. I get an egg that has Wynaut in it and promply stuff the egg into my PC, where I may or may not forget about it.

Time to face FLANNERY. Pelipper is strong enough to take on the gym by itself, but I need to have backups. Combusken's Double Kick is pretty good and Kirlia's Confusion still holds up. Torkoal is her ace, and it has good defense, but I should be okay.

* * *

Done. Heat Badge is all mine. And Strength. Ready to teach this to Zigzagoon and -

What do you mean he can't learn Strength!?

Alright, which of my Pokemon should I teach this to? Not Blaziken or Electrike. So then...

Aron.

It's not so bad. Strength is a powerful Normal type move, and it's replacing Tackle. I can deal with it.

And then I run into MAY. Thankfully not to battle. She gives me the Sand Goggles, bless her. Now I can go into the desert and get the Pokemon I've been dying for!

I don't waste a second and I travel up the Mirage Tower. It's a good thing I have my Mach Bike, otherwise I'd have to waste more time before climbing this thing. I pick the Root Fossil because it doesn't matter, I'll get the Claw Fossil later. But more importantly, I catch the Pokemon I've wanted.

Trapinch.

This thing starts off small, but evolves into a beast Flygon. It'll take time, of course, but I finally have the ground type I've always wanted, and a dragon type later down the line. My Pokemon will cover all the bases, and Trapinch will join the training regime of greatness.

At this point, Zigzagoon is just around because he has two HMs and his Pick Up ability. He can't keep up, and I have no interest in a Normal Type. My team is pretty spread out, though. Seven Pokemon are among the ones I keep switching out and training. They are as follows.

Combusken, Pelipper, Lombre, Kirlia, Aron, Electrike, and Trapinch.

It's coming along nicely, but there are two more Pokemon to add to this roster. And add them I will! But not right now. Now, I'm gonna take a break before squaring off against NORMAN and the Petalburg Gym.


	3. Third Day

Another Day, Another Pokemon.

* * *

THIRD DAY

* * *

It's time to challenge the Petalburg Gym. I have four badges and stronger Pokemon. Ergo, I'm ready to fight.

NORMAN, or DAD, uses - you guessed it - Normal types, because his name is Norman Normalstein as opposed to Draco Dragonborn, and yes, I would have preferred my name be Cobb Dragonborn as opposed to Cobb Normalstein. I suppose considering my name, I should be using Vegetable type Pokemon, but I like to break the mold (not like the Pokemon ability Mold Breaker) and use all kinds of Pokemon, particularly the ones that are super powerful and/or will win me the Battle Frontier. Because being a winner is the only condition for my approval.

Anyway, I need to concoct a strategy for NORMAN. I have seven Pokemon to choose from and I need to plan for his ace, Slaking. It's a Pokemon I thought about recruiting for my party, but scrapped because his Truant ability is too annoying. He can't attack every other turn. I need consistent attacks to win the Battle Frontier.

Combusken is my first choice because of his Double Kick. Fighting types are the only ones super effective against Normal types. Aron is my second choice, since Steel types have a good defense. Trapinch needs some training with the EXP share. Kirlia, Pelipper, and Electrike can be my backups in case things go south.

Here goes...

* * *

Things went south HARD.

It was that Slaking. Its defense was unreal. It took a Double Kick head on and was still standing! Then NORMAN used a super potion and Combusken died! My other Pokemon weren't strong enough and died one after the other, leaving me with Pelipper. I was almost certain I'd lose.

And then I saw it.

I taught Pelipper Protect.

Hope.

My thoughts on Truant proved to be prophetic, because - guess what? - fighting a Pokemon that can only attack every other move works in your favor if you're defending with Protect every other move! Yeah, I attacked when it couldn't and Protected when it could, and beat it easily! Water Gun and Wing Attack, over and over, whittled Slaking down and won me the Balance Badge! HA! Pelipper you goofy-Pelican-son-of-a-gun!

But it gets better! Turns out Surf, the HM I won with the fight, can be taught to my HM dump, Zigzagoon! So what if it made no sense, I'll happily float around the ocean on the back of a small racoon. Surf's a good attack, but I wasn't quite ready to teach it to my Pokemon. I'll wait till I get the last two members of my party. Pelipper will just have to stick with Water Gun for now.

Now, I can Surf.

First thing I did was to backtrack to traverse all the water routes I could. That meant surfing the entirety of Routes 105 through 109, catching Tentacool along the way. It was good training for Electrike and Lombre. Electrike especially, since a flying type Gym was coming up next. Electrike became Manectric and I even visited New Mauville to catch Magnemite and Voltorb. Combusken Training only. Walked around the Sunken Ship, need Dive to explore further.

Oh.

So, scrolling through my Key Items, I found the Meteorite stolen from Prof. COZMO by Team Magma, then retrieved by me. I didn't give it back to COZMO yet.

I feel a bit bad about not getting it right back to him (especially since I'm sure he'll give me something for it), but I can't waste time on that. I need to get to Route 119.

* * *

I **hate** Route 119.

It's always raining, which is annoying everytime I have to battle and wait for the rain animation to stop at the beginning, and if the battle takes more than one turn I have to rewatch it over and over.

But that pales in comparison to the real thing I hate about this route: Feebas.

Fricking. Feebas.

I don't even have to explain it to you Pokemon veterans out there. All you need is one word, _Feebas,_ and you understand perfectly.

What's the problem?

Feebas.

What's got you so frustrated?

Feebas.

Why did you throw your Gameboy Advanced at the wall?

FEEBAS.

I'll explain it anyway in case you're unaware. Feebas evoles into Milotic, a powerful water-type with good stats. I'm not adding it to my team, but it has pretty good stats. The problem? You have to catch it by fishing. Sounds easy right?

**WRONG.**

They only appear on six water tiles in all four-hundred and thirty-six tiles. And sometimes you don't even get a Feebas, so you have to fish 4 or 5 times. If you find one by chance, great! Fish the heck out of that spot! If not, it could take you days to find the proper spot. And that's with a Super Rod! I was trying with a Good Rod.

Somehow, past me was able to catch a Feebas. It was by pure dumb luck and it was after I beat the Elite Four. I caught as many as I could and got a Milotic.

I'm not sure if present me has the patience for it, though.

I tried anyway with the Good Rod, probably checking six or seven water tiles. Nothing. Just stupid Magikarp that only know Splash. What's even the point of that move besides contests? I caught one just to fill the Pokedex.

The only good thing about was catching the next Pokemon I'm planning to add to my team. Carvanha.

I had one of these when I was younger, and it was good then. Good for Dark type and Water type moves, especially after evolving it into a Sharpedo.

So it wasn't a total waste. Caught a Tropius and a Linoone along the way. Fought Team Aqua at the Weather Institute and won me a Castform. I also evolved Combusken and Trapinch into Blaziken and Vibrava. The reason being I wanted to fight MAY's Swampert.

I reasoned that your rival's Pokemon will only be the final evolution starter if your own starter was also final evolution. So I leveled up my Blaziken. Turns out, it doesn't work that way. I'll never get to see MAY's Swampert. It'll only ever get as far as a Marshtomp. As if completing the National Pokedex isn't tough enough, the developers couldn't even have you face off against a fully evolved starter. You want to complete the Pokedex? Then force a friend to get the game and trade with them.

So unfair.

And another thing! Why is it that I can battle every Pokemon in existence in the Battle Frontier, but none of them are registered in the National Pokedex? Was it so bad to just give the players that, the the developers were like, 'Nah, go trade with FireRed and LeafGreen.'

UGH!

* * *

Sorry, about that tirade. I'm cool now.

I get to Fortree City and my Pokemon are in peak condition. Sort of. Actually they're all sick with a strange disease.

So... apparently all that Feebas searching wasn't for nothing. One of the stupid Magikarp had the Pokerus Virus. I've never gotten this before, so I have no idea what to expect. I looked it up...

...

_Oh my._

So, the Pokerus Virus allows your Pokemon to gain more stats everytime they level up. Instead of 1 or 2, they get 3 or 4. Maybe more. In other words, if I kept leveling them up with Pokerus, their Attack, Speed, Defense, SP Attack, and SP Defense would be higher than usual.

...

(¬‿¬)

* * *

I switched out every one of my main team Pokemon so they all have Pokerus, then - for good measure - infected a spare Pokemon - Koffing seemed fitting - and kept it in a separate box. Pokerus lasts a day or two at best, but hopefully I can keep rotating my Pokemon so they keep getting sick and stuff. It's like monopolizing the Chicken Pox, only it's exclusively beneficial.

Prepare yourselves Battle Frontier. I have illness on my side! HAHAHA!

Even Nurse Joy is like 'Your Pokemon have a terrible illness. Pokerus!'

'Oh no! What are the symptoms?'

'They get stronger every time they level up.'

(ಠ_ಠ)

If only WALLY was sickly with this disease. He might just turn into a young Fabio.

Speaking of WALLY, he apparently ditched his Aunt, Uncle, and worried Father to go on a Pokemon Journey. What a rebel. I'm sure he'll be fine.

* * *

So, riddled with disease, my Pokemon team went to take on WINONA... except we couldn't, because something invisible was blocking our way. I actually forgot about this, but it's a Kecleon. Had to go to Route 120 first to talk with STEVEN and get the Devon Scope. Now I can encounter all the invisible Pokemon blocking my way in the future.

Six.

Six times, and then I don't use it ever again.

Okay, well that detour was pointless. Aside from catching a Kecleon, I mean.

Can I do the Gym now?

Good.

Took on WINONA and her Flying types. Manectric, Blaziken, and Vibrava were all I needed. Vibrava's Dragon Breath was a good match against her ace Altaria. Feather Badge. Gimme. Fly. Gimme Gimme. Taught it to Vibrava for now. I also got the TM Aerial Ace, which I taught to Blaziken to replace Peck. Also replaced his Ember with Blaze Kick. Carvanha leveled up as well, becoming Sharpedo before I knew it.

And then... oh, my stars... Kirlia evolved into Gardevoir. Happy Day.

Now I have to go down Route 120, but for now I'm pleased to take a break.

Blaziken. Lombre. Gardevoir. Pelipper. Aron. Manectric. Vibrava. Sharpedo.

Eight Pokemon down, one to go. Then I'll have a solid team against the Battle Frontier.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to Fly to Fallarbor and deliver this meteroite back to Prof. COZMO.

Cobb, awaaaaaaaaay~!


	4. Fourth Day

**Last time, on Pokemon Z...**

* * *

FOURTH DAY

* * *

Alright, alright, alright! Back to Emerald!

COZMO was happy to get his meteorite back. Figured he'd give me a Jirachi or something, but no, he gives me a TM. Return. Get it? Because I _returned_ something to him? Get it?

Ha Ha.

(Should have kept the meteorite.)

Whatever. Flew back to Fortree with Volbeat and traded it to some kid for a Plusle. I already have a Plusle, but by trading I get a Pokemon with a different ID number, which will come in handy later when I try for the Lottery Corner at Lilycove City.

Also, I got a suggestion in the reviews to ditch Pelipper. It's not Battle Frontier material they said, and I'm starting to think they're right. Pelipper's Protect saved me against NORMAN's Slaking back in Petalburg, but its moveset and stats are very meh. It still only has water gun as a water-type attack. So I might have to cut Pelipper form the Battle Fontier Team. For now, I'll keep him around, but training the others is a bigger priority.

Took a stroll down Route 120. Caught Absol. It's funny, I remember them to be a lot harder to catch when I was younger.

Went to Route 121 without much problem. Passed the Safari Zone. I remember a LOT of time spent in there, particularly after beating the Elite Four. Lots of Pokemon.

Team Aqua went towards Mt. Pyre. Those guys are way cooler than Team Magma. I'm sure they're planning nothing nefarious. I'll let them be.

Lilycove City. Gotta love that Waltz-like tune. MAY is waiting outside the department store. You want to buy TMs and gear, you have to go through her. We fight, for what I know is the last time, and she still doesn't have a Swampert. I wipe the floor with her and she flies away. Goodbye MAY. Now who'll be my rival? WALLY? Psh, naaaah.

While in Lilycove, I look at the Hoenn map in my Pokegear and see the vast expanse of ocean I have to surf across to get the last two badges. It's annoying, since it's harder to explore and remember where I've explored since I'm stopping to fight a water Pokemon every ten steps. No wonder my electric types leveled up so fast in past playthroughs, it's because I had them killing these water Pokemon all the time.

In short, I'm hesistant to get to the ocean. Don't tell Team Aqua. They'll never let me join.

Instead I backtrack to Mt. Pyre. Good place to catch ghost types. Catch a Gloom (don't feel like leveling up my Oddish) and Shuppet. Then I ascend Mt. Pyre for Duskull, Vulpix, and Chimecho. 2% catch rate, and I still got me a Chimecho. Heh.

Also, Team Aqua. Hey guys! Can I join you - oh, you want to battle? Okay! I win! Does this mean I can join now - hey, where are you going? Come back! I WANT THE BLUE BANDANNA!

Well, great. They all ran off. Oh, and, some old people are complaining about a Red Orb being stolen. It couldn't have been Team Aqua, though, since they're blue. Why would the _blue_ team steal the _Red_ Orb? And one of the elders found an incriminating Magma Emblem at the scene of the crime. I don't need to be Detective Looker to tell that Team Aqua is completely innocent -

There's a Blue Orb missing too?

Huh.

Okay, I guess Team Aqua _did_ steal an orb. And those dastardly Team Magma guys too. But I hate Team Magma more, so I'm gonna take the Magma Emblem, politely return it to to Team Magma, and then beat them up and steal all their money. And to help with that, my MOM gave me an Amulet Coin! Now I get double moneys if one of my battling Pokemon holds onto it. Thanks MOM! I'm gonna go steal people's lunch money now!

But where would Team Magma's hideout be? They wouldn't be stupid enough to set it up at the base of a volcano, would they?

Oh, who am I kidding. They're near Mt. Chimney, aren't they?

Yep. Right up the Jagged Path.

I beat up every member of Team Magma I can. One of them complains that it's too hot. Well, yeah, you're in a freaking volcano and there's a pool of lava ten feet from you. Of course you'd be hot.

Catch Geodude (where were you when I was facing WATTSON?) and Graveler. And - le gasp! - Aron's evolving! Lairon! Let's kick some Team Magma butt!

Lairon dies to Camerupt's Earthquake.

(o_o)

Pelipper kills Camerupt.

I encounter TABITHA (the guy) and MAXIE and beat them both into the dirt, but not before MAXIE uses the Blue Orb to awaken Groudon. Why is a Blue Orb awakening a red pokemon? I don't know. Makes a neat color contrast when it happens in MT Chimney, though. Groudon peaces out and MAXIE flees.

I don't have a problem with it. I got my moneys.

* * *

Back to Lilycove. Turns out Team Aqua's base is right next door. Maybe I can join now...?

Hey! Yeah, I beat up all of Team Magma and stole their lunch money. Can I join you guys now? No? Your boss is _where_ stealing a submarine? Your boss is in Slateport City stealing _what_?

Okay, I guess I'll go to Slateport.

Hey, Archie can I join team Aqua - and he's getting away in the submarine. Great.

Okay, back to Lilycove... again. Thank Arceus I have Fly.

Team Aqua! Your boss took a submarine and - oh, he's prepping it here? Can I cut through and talk to - oh, more battling, okay. I won. Can I join up now - stop running away!

Okay, that's it! I _demand_ to speak with your leader! Out of the way Admin MATT!

NOOOO! He's getting away in the submarine again! NGHHH!

I'll have to search the entire ocean for him, eh MATT? Well then that's what I'm gonna have to do! Those blue bandannas _will_ be mine!

BTW, I'm taking your Master Ball. I won't use it, but I like having the option in my Inventory. Archie must have been in a real hurry to forget this.

* * *

Darn this plot progression! I have yet to get a badge!

I do a quick pass over Route 123 and go to the move deleter to make Gardevoir forget that god-awful Flash Move in favor of the Shadow Ball TM I picked up at Mt. Pyre. I also taught her Psychic. Lombre was given the TM Giga Drain because I figured it'd be good.

Boy was I wrong. 60 damage, five uses? I can fix it with PP Up or PP Max, but that just seems a waste. I don't want to use medicine to make my PP go up. My PP should be at full capacity right from the start.

If that joke flew too high over your head, you need a Sky Uppercut to get it.

* * *

I'm ready to Surf.

Route 124, then Route 125. I have Manectric at the top, since electric type moves are murder on water types.

Had to pause for a moment to register the fact that I'm surfing the ocean on the back of a small racoon, looking for Team Aqua in their submarine.

I made it to Mossdeep City and took a look around. The Space Center got a threatening letter. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Hey, STEVEN! He lives here! Hey, bro. Thanks for the Devon Scope. I used it at least 6 times. You can have it back now. **Take it.**

Time for the Mossdeep Gym. TATE and LIZA. The twins that use Psychic types. I think it's a pun on the word 'tantalizing,' but I don't know. I've got Gardevoir, Sharpedo, and Vibrava against their aces, Solrock and Lunatone. Lairon and Manectric can chip in too.

Let's go!

* * *

EZ. Mind Badge is mine, all mine. And Dive. Had to teach it to Sharpedo, but now I can find Archie and his submarine.

So, with no further interruptions, I can - what do you mean Team Magma is attacking the Space Center? Can't STEVEN deal with it on his own? He's tough. He's got cool hair. He can -

Ugh, fine, I'll help a bro out.

STEVEN, bro, I'm here. What's Team Magma's brilliant plan this time?

'We're going to steal the Space Center's Rocket Fuel!'

'Okay... and then...?'

'We'll dump it into Mt. Chimney!'

'WHAT!?'

'It'll cause the volcano to erupt, expanding the land and realizing Team Magma's true ambition!'

'You're all crazy! Is this because I stole all your moneys?'

Me and STEVEN bro fight TABITHA (guy) and MAXIE, and thank Arceus STEVEN is competent, because my Pokemon were little help. My Lairon performed the killing blow and got to see what big brother Aggron looks like. That's what you'll be some day Lairon. Look forward to it.

So we won, and it's only _NOW_ that MAXIE realizes that he and his plans are crazy. About time. Team Magma splits and MAXIE hints that he's off to stop ARCHIE.

NOT IF I CATCH HIM FIRST!

...Tomorrow. Now, sleep.


	5. Fifth Day

Time to complete my team.

* * *

FIFTH DAY

* * *

Back to Mossdeep City. I teach Sharpedo Dive so I can scour the vast ocean routes for ARCHIE, the submarine, and the rest of Team Aqua.

But before any of that happens, I pick up the Super Rod so I can fish for Pokemon easier. Apparently, this tool is the best for catching Feebas, since if you use it on Route 119, you can only ever get Carvanha or the diamond of the sea, Feebas. My Pokemon still largely have Pokerus, and I can only hope its improving their stats as they level up. I see the difference in numbers, so I'm happy.

But I'm angry about something. I taught Gardevoir Shadow Ball, thinking it was a Special attack much like in the other games. Turns out it's a _Physical_ attack in Gen 3. Which means it's worthless as an attack for Gardevoir since its ATK stat is so low. What a rip-off! I need to teach it something else, but the game doesn't classify the moves as special or physical in the descriptions, so it's harder to decide. Like, you'd think Thunder Punch is a physical move, but apparently not. It's Special. How can it not be Physical when it has the word 'punch' in it's name!?

I don't know what's real anymore.

Until I can wrap my head around which move to teach, Gardevoir keeps Shadow Ball. If nothing else, it can damage Psychic and Ghost types pretty well.

With that said, I have one more Pokemon to add to my team. It's one I've always had in the past because I absolutely needed it to defeat the Elite Four.

Glalie.

I know, there are probably better choices, or I could just teach Lombre Ice Beam, but I just really liked Glalie. It's a rare-ish Pokemon, and I love having one in my party. So, I headed on down to Route 125, entered the Shoal Cave at low tide, and went to the lowest floor with ice everywhere. Caught Spheal and, after a little while, Snorunt. I gave him the EXP Share and kept on battling.

I'm still dreading exloring the ocean routes, but I can't deny it's good training against water types. The last Gym uses water-types, so I need to go in with Manectric and Lombre. I make sure to use Dive to access Sootopolis City so I can Fly there whenever I want, and then Pacifidlog Town. After that, I take a detour to the Abandoned Ship to finish exploring. I find a Scanner, but I also happen upon a Water Stone. I knew I'd get one somewhere, but it's nice to have it now. Used it right away on Lombre and evolved it into Ludicolo. Figured I might as well.

I also gave him a PP Up just to test it out. Giga Drain went from 5 attacks to 6.

Wow.

Honestly, Ludicolo's moveset is pretty bad. Fake Out, Thief, Giga Drain, and Astonish. I need to fix this at some point.

* * *

Holy Balls.

I freaking caught a Feebas.

After spending two hours scouring Route 119, I finally found the money spot. Kept fishing until I had 6 of them. One will become a Milotic.

That made me happy.

I also went back, caught a Corphish. Then with Dive I caught Relicanth, Chinchou, and Clamperl. I traded the Scanner in for a Deepseatooth, but I need to trade Clamperl while it's holding the item to get a Huntail. Not happening.

Caught Wailmer, evolved it into Wailord pretty easily. I can get the Regi trio now if I want, but, meh.

I pretty much did everything else until I was ready to Dive for Team Aqua. While down there I caught a Golbat because I'm too lazy to level up Zubat. Fought some grunts. Had to rearrange my backpack a few times.

That's another thing. In future games, the bag's inventory is infinite (I'll admit that's less realistic) but I had no idea the bag inventory was this _small_. I can only hold 30 items, and most of them are Hold Items I can't get rid of.

BUT THEN, the PC's inventory system is also limited. That should at least be infinite. It's a PC operating on Cyber Space. There should be space to spare! Instead I have to store a million different mails that I'm never going to use, but I picked up from the Trick House and are too lazy to throw out!

*SIGH*

Now where was I? Oh yeah, stopping Team Aqua.

I battle ARCHIE and win, but the Red Orb goes off prematurely in his hands and Kyogre is free to terrorize the world.

Peachy.

Also, MAXIE shows up just in time to be too late and tell ARCHIE he's a twat. And outside, it is raining heavily. But the music is so epic in how serious a disaster is happening that I had to pause a moment and enjoy it. It's a really cool them with the storm and lightning in the background.

Oh, and Hoenn may or may not be doomed.

I Fly to Sootopolis where I watch Kyogre and Groudon square off. Being the idiot that I am, I try and Surf between them to break them up. Doesn't work.

Instead, I find STEVEN bro and he gets me past the security at the Cave of Origin so I can talk with WALLACE. He lets me know - or rather, I let him know about something he already should have known about, what do I even need him for? - that the only Pokemon that can calm these bickering legendaries is Rayquaza, the star legendary of Emerald Version. He's green, he's mean, and he'll have to get in-between the warring Pokemon to save the world.

But where does Rayquaza live? Why, the Sky Pillar of course!

I love that I needed WALLACE to unlock the front door of Sky Pillar, but he has no idea that Rayquaza was in there until I mentioned it. Like, what did you have to guard the key for then, idiot. You sure you're the Champion of Hoenn?

He also leaves getting Rayquaza to me since the storm's getting worse and he's worried about Sootopolis. Well, Sootopolis was already the center of the conflict anyway, so nothing's changed.

But it's a scripted event. So I forgive him.

I climb the tower. Thankfully, I have the Mach Bike, otherwise there would have been a really awkward conversation with RYDEL.

'RYDEL! I need the Mach Bike to get over a crumbling floor and save the world!'

'...what?'

Up, up I go through Sky Pillar. I catch Claydol and Banette. And there he is. Rayquaza. I talk to him and he promptly roars and flies off to Sootopolis. I fly after him and am treated to a nice cutscene of Rayquaza telling the other two to get their sh*t together. And it works! Crisis averted!

Then Rayquaza flies off into the sunset like a badass.

* * *

Alright, I'm ready to take on the Sootopolis Gym.

The leader this time around is JUAN and his ace, Kingdra, will give me enough trouble as it. But, my team is ready. Manectric, Ludicolo, Sharpedo, do your stuff!

* * *

It's done. The Rain Badge is mine. As is Waterfall. I taught it to Sharpedo and made it forget Dive, then dumped every water-type HM (Surf, Dive, Waterfall) into Wailord. Taught Ludicolo Surf to give it a better move than Astonish. Snorunt also evolved into Glalie. He'll be my secret weapon against the Elite Four's DRAKE.

Speaking of the Elite Four, I can get to them now. Ever Grande City is within reach. Right after I get some more training in.

Meteor Falls seems like a good spot, especially since I can access the deeper areas with Waterfall. I go in and catch two Bagon. The stronger one I'm keeping, but the other one I'll trade for a Horsea. I also find the TM Dragon Claw. I try teaching it to Vibrava, but no good. It has to be Flygon to have claws.

Technicalities...

I did teach it Earthquake after picking it up in the Seafloor Cavern. It's looking pretty tough. I can probably use him against DRAKE as well.

Vibrava and Lairon are on the cusp of leveling up to their fully evolved forms. I finish up their training on Victory Road, obtaining Aggron and Flygon.

It's been a long road, but my Battle Frontier Team is all fully evolved. Blaziken, Ludicolo, Gardevoir, Aggron, Manectric, Flygon, Sharpedo, Glalie. The Great Eight, I'll call them.

But there's a small problem.

I'm certain these eight powerhouses, when arranged in different combinations of three, can overcome any challenge at the Battle Frontier.

But before I get there, I have to choose six - _only six_ \- to take on the Elite Four and the Champion.

Nobody told me today would be this tough.

While I'm on Victory Road, deliberating about which Pokemon to choose, I made the foolish mistake of bringing one too many HM Pokemon. I have a weak Duskull with Flash (so that Gardevoir doesn't have it), Aggron with Strength, Sharpedo with Waterfall, and a weak Zigzagoon with Rock Smash, Surf, and Cut. The other two are Blaziken and Flygon (with Fly).

All the wild Pokemon and Trainers are tough on Victory Road. That's sort of the whole point, but I burned through all my moves getting past them. And then WALLY shows up when I'm weak and vulnerable and challenges me to a battle. That sickly monster!

We fight, and it's a gruelling slog in which I burn a Revive or two, but I win. I catch Hariyama and Mawile right before I find the exit. I couldn't get out of that Victory Road fast enough.

* * *

Before me is the building where the Elite Four reside.

Time to choose the six Pokemon that will help me win it.

First, I consider all the types. Dark, Ghost, Ice, Dragon, and Water.

The Dark Types belong to SIDNEY. His ace, Absol. Blaziken's Double Kick should be enough. And if not, I'm gonna use Bulk Up two or three times at the start so I can sweep his whole team. He's the only Pokemon with moves super-effective against Dark types, so he's definitely a must to bring. SIDNEY's Pokemon have other weaknesses the rest of my party can capitalize upon. It's a solid plan.

The Ghost Types are PHOEBE's. Her ace, Dusclops. Normally, I would have said Gardevoir because of Shadow Ball, but Shadow Ball won't be as powerful. Not to mention Ghost types are super-effective against her. Better to rely on my Pokemon with Dark Type moves. Sharpedo, Glalie, and Flygon all know Crunch. Those three will be taking on PHOEBE.

Ice Types are GLACIA's. Her ace, Walrein. Hoenn doesn't have much in the way of Ice Types. She has two Glalie, two Sealeo, and a Walrein. A little more variety would have been nice. Blaziken's Blaze Kick and Double Kick are the obvious choice against these Ice Types, but Manectric's Thunderbolt and Spark will work wonders against her Water and Ice Types. No Aggron. He's too vulnerable to water-type moves to bring to this fight. Him and Gardevoir will have to sit this one out.

Dragon Types. DRAKE. This guy was always a problem because of his ace Salamence and because if you take too long, his Kingdra and Altaria will use Dragon Dance and be unstoppable. Kingdra will be more of a problem, as Water-Dragon Types have good defense against electric and ice type moves. Glalie's Ice Beam can one hit Flygon and Salamence, but I'll need Manectric's Thunder Wave to lockdown their Dragon Dance speed increase. After that, Flygon's Dragon Claw can chip away at them.

Finally, WALLACE's Water Types. His ace is Milotic, a Pokemon with great defense. No matter what, I can never one-hit it with an Electric Type move. Just like with JUAN, gotta go with Manectric and Ludicolo. Ludicolo's Giga Drain will be invaluable against Whiscash. I need to be careful, however, since he can only use that move six times.

So that'll be my team and my strategy.

Blaziken, Flygon, Sharpedo, Glalie, Manectric, Ludicolo.

And about half a million Hyper Potions and Revives.

Let's do it!

* * *

Even underleveled, my team prevailed.

Hoenn Champion Cobb.

Next time, the real challenge begins. The Battle Fontier.

Seven Symbols or bust, baby.


	6. Sixth Day

It starts and ends here. The Battle Frontier.

* * *

SIXTH DAY

* * *

I have just defeated the Elite Four to become Hoenn's newest champion.

I wake up back in Littleroot Town, where my MOM congratulates me. And Professor Birch gives me the National Pokedex, which is beyond my power to complete.

Neat.

But enough about that! It's time to reach the Battle Frontier! I get a call from SCOTT, the creepy stalker who's been watching me all over Hoenn. He says to meet him on the S.S. Tidal where he'll undoubtedly inform me about the Battle Frontier!

*FANFARE*

So I grab my ticket,make for Slateport City, and ride the ship to Lilycove, battling a trainer or two along the way. I also grab the Leftovers item from the ship's storage. It literally looks like an apple core, but apparently it has magical healing properties, so whatever I'll take it!

I have to reboard the ship to get to the Battle Frontier, but once I'm there, I can fly there and back whenever I want. There's a lot to explore, and I get it done as fast as I can.

I get my Frontier Pass and a few Battle Points from Scott. It's got seven empty holes that I'll have to fill with Frontier Symbols. I relish the Challenge! It's also got a neat little map to show where all the facilities are, not to mention a replay battle button to show the last fight you have recorded. I'll be reserving the replay button for the Frontier Brain battles. I catch the Sudowoodo blocking the way and catch a Smeargle as well. I get in some training while I'm at it.

There was a slight snag, however. The minimum level for the Battle Frontier is level 50, and of the Great Eight, only Manectric is level 50. They all need to be the same level, or else the enemy Pokemon will have a slight advantage in levels and perhaps stats. But Emerald Version doesn't allow for a lot of post-game training. The best I did in my previous playthroughs was get my Pokemon up to level 62, so it'll take too long bringing them all up to that same precise level 50.

Luckily, there's one Battle Facility where your Pokemon's levels don't matter, and that's the Battle Factory. You're given rental Pokemon, either level 50 or level 100, and you battle with those. I figure it's as good a start as any and report to the Battle Factory posthaste.

* * *

The Battle Factory is tricky.

Back when I played this for the first time, I got a tip, that to succeed in the Battle Factory, you need a fast Pokemon with status afflicting attacks to start, a Pokemon with good attack stats and a wide range of moves as your second, and a Pokemon with a lot of HP and good defense as your third. The idea was to weaken them first, then deal solid blows second, then wait them out third.

Back when I first played this, I was a stupid kid, without full knowledge of which moves were super-effective against what and thinking I shouldn't swap out my Pokemon in the middle of battle because my new pokemon would get hit. I would just ride it out, even if it was a poor match-up, and hope for the best.

Now, I'm not that stupid.

After playing Pokemon Battle Online, against actual people who can think and choose the most optimal attack moves, I know that switching out your Pokemon mid-battle can be advantageous as long as you think it through. If you know your opponent is going to use earthquake, switch out to a flying type or a Pokemon with Levitate. If you know they'll throw Toxic Spikes, switch to a Pokemon with Magic Bounce, or switch to a Poison type to get rid of those spikes. It's all a matter of strategy.

The programmed trainers of the Battle Factory are not smart. They can't think. Therefore, I can outsmart them if I'm careful. And I'll have to be to obtain the Knowledge Symbol from NOLAND. I need 21 wins for the Silver Symbol and 42 wins for the Gold Symbol. At least that's reasonable, unlike the 70 wins for the Battle Tower.

At the start, the level 50 Pokemon offerred are... lame. To give you an idea, one of the fire types knows Ember. Fricking Ember. But, by the third or fourth time around, I'm getting Pokemon like Camerupt with Eruption. Now that's what I'm talking about!

As none of these are my Pokemon, it's hard recalling all the moments leading up to the match with NOLAND. I used a Pokemon with Toxic very often, whittling away my opponent's health. I used a Chansey (the best defensive Pokemon) and managed to beat an annoying Gengar that hit me with Attract, Hypnosis, and Confuse Ray in a ceaseless cycle. UGH! Then I had to fight a Chansey a different time that had Softboiled and Double Team. WORST SLOG EVER. But I actually managed to get to NOLAND without losing. That's right, I got the Silver Symbol and the Gold Symbol without dying. It's my first time obtaining a Gold Symbol ever, and I can't believe I'm holding one in my Frontier Pass.

This Battle Facility was rather rushed, but only because, again, I'm using rental Pokemon. The other facilities will be more descriptivem, I promise.

* * *

After conquering the Battle Factory (and getting a fat stack of Battle Points), I flew back to Hoenn to continue training the Great Eight to level 50. I visited the Fossil Maniac's House, both to get a Ditto, and obtain the Claw Fossil in the Desert Underground. I brought it back to the Fossil restorer in Rustboro and obtained a Lileep and an Anorith. Also caught a Skitty, a Slakoth, and checked out the completed Safari Zone to cath a _ton_ of new Pokemon.

Pikachu, Doduo, Natu, Xatu, Girafarig, Psyduck, Goldeen, Rhyhorn, Phanpy, Mareep, Sunkern, Aipom, Wooper, Remoraid, Hoothoot, Ledyba, Teddiursa, Miltank.

And that's not even all of them.

I also have some breeding to take care of. Now that I have a Ditto, I can make Pokemon babies. Don't blame me if that sounds dark and ttwisted, blame the developers!

With Pikachu, the recently caught Skitty, Marill, the recently caught Jigglypuff, and even Gardevoir, I obtain eggs for Pichu, Skitty, Azurill, Igglybuff, and Ralts. I gave my Marill Sea Incense so I know I'll get the Azurill. I don't have a Pokemon with Flame Body to half the steps needed, but I hatch the Pokemon anyway, starting with Ralts and Skitty. The reason for this is to have a Ralts and Skitty to trade for a Seedot and Meowth respectively. I also dropped by STEVEN bro's house where he left me a little something. Beldum!

STEVEN bro...

I know he's at Meteor Falls. I know he's stronger than the Champion. I know I'm not ready for that yet.

I'm not ready for Groudon, Kyogre, or Rayquaza either. Catching them, I mean. I could kill them no sweat, but catching them is the tricky bit. I'm putting that off for now.

With 5 different ID numbers from tradeable Pokemon, I got to Lillycove for the Lottery Corner. I don't win. Ah well, if it were that easy, anyone could do it.

I snag a Pamtre Berry from the Berry Master's wife. I take great care planting it, knowing I'll need them to make max beauty Pokeblocks for Feebas to evolve into Milotic.

As far as training goes, I have the Gym Leaders for help. They fight in tag battles once their Pokemon are up to snuff, and by giving one of my Pokemon the EXP share, they can level up once or twice per battle. The key is to make sure they all stay at the same level.

The Pokerus virus has cleared out from most of my Pokemon and there's a little dot, signaling that they'll never get the disease again. I expect Gardevoir and Ludicolo will recover from the Pokerus soon. It was a good run. I think they got twenty levels worth of stat boosts.

I visit Mt. Pyre to see ARCHIE and MAXIE off one more time. They returned the Red and Blue orbs and they don't say much to me before they're gone forever. It's a bit sad... until I consider how one of them was trying to make a volcano erupt and kill everybody and the other was trying to flood the world and kill everybody.

'But are they really evil?' Asks the elderly lady of Mt. Pyre.

'...YES. They really are.'

I have two rematches with WALLY. What a great way to gain EXP! I also finish off the Trick House, obtaining a Blue Tent in the process.

Another two hours of grinding in the Artisan Cave gets my Pokemon all up to level 50. Now, I can take on the other facilities.

I decide to go for the easiest, the one I managed to defeat in my first two playthroughs. The Battle Pike.

It's easy because in the seven rooms you have to go through, there's a chance you don't have to battle any trainers. There are even some 'free space' rooms, like Wild Pokemon, Status affliction, non-aggresive player, the 'I will Heal you' old man, or the 'I will heal all your Pokemon' maid. There are bad rooms too, like battle trainer, battle two trainers, or battle tough trainer. But getting to LUCY and the Silver Luck Symbol is as easy as beating the Pike twice in a row.

And, since I know LUCY's Pokemon, I have just the trio for the job.

Flygon, Aggron, Manectric.

They're perfect for the Battle Pike, since Aggron is immune to poison and Manectric and Flygon are immune to paralysis (I think).

But when the fight with Lucy arrives, and my Pokemon are all fortunately healed before facing her...

It's _glorious_.

Past me always struggled against her freaking Shuckle. It has Rest, Toxic, Sandstorm, Protect, and an unconquerable defense. Battling it was always tough, especially while dealing with the Posion from its Toxic.

But now?

I have never appreciated Aggron more than I have while battling LUCY's Shuckle.

It's the perfect counter. Toxic doesn't work against Steel-Types, Sandstorm doesn't hurt him, and Shuckle can Rest all he wants, Iron Tail and Metal Claw are SUPER-EFFECTIVE against Rock-Types. By Arceus, I never knew how _easy_ this battle could be. Picking up that Aron back in Granite Cave has paid off.

Flygon decimated Seviper with Earthquake and Manectric toasted her Milotic with Thunderbolt. And that's it. The Silver Symbol is mine.

I'm so elated, I'm gonna take a breather after my fifth win at the Pike. I battle LUCY again after the tenth time, and I think I'll have to rethink the trio I'll send in to fight her. She'll have a Steelix and a Gyarados next time, and Aggron won't be much help against either. This will require some careful deliberation...


	7. Seventh Day

The Battle Frontier Challenge is gonna take a while...

* * *

SEVENTH DAY

* * *

Alright, I'm back and refreshed for another session of Emerald. And I'm ready!

After careful deliberation, I've decided on my trio for taking on LUCY for the Gold Luck Symbol. As I said before, her Pokemon this time around are Seviper, Steelix, and Gyarados. I've adjusted my team accordingly.

No matter what anyone says, Flygon's Earthquake is the best choice against Seviper. It's super effective and causes massive damage. Gyarados doesn't stand a chance against Manectric's Thunderbolt. As for Steelix, Aggron won't be a good matchup, but Flygon's Earthquake can also do massive damage. The other Pokemon to have is Blaziken. Double Kick or Blaze Kick will be super effective against Steelix and whittle away what health its got.

So, that's my trio. Flygon, Blaziken, Menctric.

Here goes.

* * *

I didn't even need Blaziken to win.

Flygon and Manectric were more than enough and I happily obtained the golden Luck Symbol. Battle Pike completed.

Two Symbols down, five to go.

See you next time!

* * *

JK, I'm not ending the Chapter there. Figured I could go for one more Symbol. But choosing Battle Facilities is tougher than it seems.

No matter what, most of these things I need to beat ten times in a row (which is a pain) to obtain the Gold Symbols. I'm putting the Battle Tower off until last.

The Battle Pyramid is a tempting choice, I'm _dreading_ the Battle Palace where I'll be at the mercy of whatever nature my Pokemon have, and the Battle Arena has a strange judging system I need to wrap my head around. As if getting fifty plus wins in a row wasn't bad enough.

So, I ultimately decided upon the Battle Dome.

True, I need to win five times in a row for Silver and ten times for Gold, but each time is only four trainer battles and I can adjust my Pokemon accordingly. It's truly worthy of the Tactics Symbol that its Frontier Brain, TUCKER, holds.

My trio of Pokemon this time around will cover the most moves. Blaziken, Flygon, and Ludicolo.

Blaziken has Aerial Ace in case some jerk-wad spams Double Team and it can also deal super-effective damage to Bug-Types, Fighting-Types, and Grass-Types. Bulk Up can strengthen Defense and Offense and allow Blaziken to withstand an Earthquake (I've tested this) once. Blaze Kick can handle any Ice-Types, Steel-Types, Bug-Types, and Grass-Types. Double Kick can handle Dark-Types, Steel-Types, Rock-Types, Ice-Types, and Normal-Types. I gave it Charcoal for that extra power on Blaze Kick. And when it's health is low, its ability Blaze will really up that move's power.

Flygon has Earthquake, which can basically one hit Steel-Types, Electric-Types, Rock-Types, Poison-Types, and Fire-Types. Dragon Claw can handle Dragon-Types. Crunch can handle Ghost-Types and Psychic-Types. And Fly, which can buy Flygon time for its hold item, Leftovers, to heal it up.

Ludicolo was chosen because it has good defense being a Water/Grass-Type. It can withstand Electric-Type and Ice-Type moves better. Plus, its Fake-Out move is actually pretty useful when chipping away at an opponent's health. It's just that little bit extra that makes the difference. It has Surf, a solid attack against Rock, Ground and Fire-Types, and Giga Drain, which is useful against Rock, Ground, and Water-Types and restores its Health in the process. With the Mystical Water held item, its Surf is more powerful. And to round out its attacks, I made it forget Astonish and taught it Ice Beam. Now, it can cover Flying, Ground, Dragon, and Grass-Types.

Ludicolo is my secret against TUCKER

Anyway, I use this trio of Pokemon for the first four wins, getting an idea for their strengths and weaknesses. My Pokemon all have speed so they usually attack first, but Flygon's greatest weakness is Ice-Type moves. Which ones? Any. If any Ice-Type move hits it, it's dead. End of story. That's why I have Blaziken as a counter.

On the fifth time around, I swap out Blaziken for Sharpedo. The reason being because I know the Pokemon TUCKER will use.

TUCKER is crazy strong. He has a Swampert, a Salamence, and a Charizard. Salamence is a separate problem. The important thing is they all know Earthquake. Blaziken can't stand up to that. So I go with Sharpedo holding a Focus Band.

Ludicolo is destined to go against Swampert. Giga Drain is the only Grass-Type move in my arsenal and it'll cause massive damage if not outright kill Swampert, AND heal Ludicolo.

Charizard can be taken down through a combination of Ludicolo's Surf and Flygon's Dragon Claw. None of Charizard's move will hurt Flygon that much, so I have to go with it.

Salamence is the problem.

Early on, I learned that Salamence is faster than Flygon and can endure a Dragon Claw before countering and killing my Flygon. So I need Ludicolo's Ice Beam to one-hit it first.

It's a big risk, but I'm ready to take on TUCKER.

When the final battle starts, I pick Ludicolo first, Flygon second, and hope for the best.

* * *

The best happened.

TUCKER didn't have Salamence for whatever reason. SInce that was the most troublesome, I was feeling a lot better about my chances.

Ludicolo creamed Swampert as I predicted and Flygon finished off Charizard with an assist from Ludicolo.

The Silver Tactics Symbol is mine!

I waste no time going back to my original trio of Blaziken, Flygon, and Ludicolo as I win another five tournaments.

The rematch with TUCKER will be brutal.

* * *

So here's the gist of it...

Latias is a b*tch.

Second time around, TUCKER's Pokemon are Swampert, Metagross, and fricken Latias.

I hate Latias.

My trio is the same trio I've been winning with. Blaziken, Flygon, and Ludicolo. Ludicolo is set to counter Swampert and I figured Flygon or Blaziken could be a match for Metagross. Probably Flygon more, since none of Metagross' moves will be super-effective against it.

But Latias...

LATIAS!

Dragon Claw wasn't strong enough and neither was Crunch or Ice Beam. I thought they'd be good enough, but Latias must have crazy SP DEF to withstand it. And if that wasn't bad enough, it knows Rest and Calm Mind. Flygon is slower than Latias and Calm Mind makes damage impossible.

I lost.

After having to do this thing ten times, I lost.

It makes me so mad...

*SIGH*

Guess I'll try again...

* * *

**I spent ten hours working my way up to TUCKER and losing. Here are some of the choice highlights of my descent into madness.**

* * *

Son of a B*TCH it's LATIAS! UGH!

* * *

Why do you get a crit THERE!?

* * *

I hate this guy... I hate his outfit... I hate his pompous attitude...

* * *

Why would Game Freak torture the players like this. This is a game for children. How do they expect children to win this!?

* * *

I'm cursed. That's it, isn't it? I'm cursed by the loser's curse. Just like Ash Ketchum.

* * *

Oh, Christ, I lost to a Gardevoir in the prelims!? Why did my Fake-Out and Surf miss!? They're 100 percent accurate and it didn't use any evasion moves you C*CK-!

* * *

**After a cruel series of retries in which Cobb was consistently thwarted by TUCKER's Latias and had to pause to go off and cry in a corner, on the _EIGHTH_ attempt, something magical took place.**

* * *

*GASP*

Oh my God! He's not sending out Latias!

It's just Swampert and Metagross against Ludicolo and Flygon!

...

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!

My Pokemon finally prevail and win me the coveted, near-rage-quitted, Golden Tactics Symbol. I can't believe I'm looking at this thing in my Frontier Pass, but it's finally mine!

Good thing too, because at every intro to battling TUCKER, I had to watch this weirdo prance around the stage like some oversized fairy. It got on my nerves more than Latias did.

That's my third Symbol out of the way. I'm never setting foot in this Dome again, TUCKER. Screw you, and screw your Latias!

That's enough for today. Next time, I see what fresh horrors await me at the other four facilities. What will become the new Latias? I shudder to find out.


	8. Eighth Day

I mispelled 'Eighth' twice before getting it right. It's just a wierd looking word. And I'm stoopid.

* * *

EIGHTH DAY

* * *

Now that that episode with TUCKER is over and I've been assured by my doctor of my sanity, it's time to jump right back into the Battle Frontier!

There are only four facilities left. Tower, Palace, Arena, and Pyramid.

I hate to do it, but I've got to do the Battle Palace.

This little slice of hell forces you to sit back and let your Pokemon decide on what moves they want to throw out. There's a whole probability chart for this that changes when your Pokemon get below half health, but it's all dependent on Nature. That's right. Your Pokemon's Nature will decide whether you attack, boost yourself, or do nothing. Otherwise, your Pokemon will be incapable of using its power.

I can't tell you how many times I raged as that message came up.

The only silver lining is that your enemies are just as restricted to this BS roulette wheel of attacking.

First time around, I went with the standard trio. Blaziken, Flygon, Ludicolo. Turns out, Ludicolo is bad because it has a Bold Nature and Fake Out. So I switched him out for Gardevoir the second time around, but not before using my acrued Battle Points to teach her Thunder Punch and Ice Punch. Goodbye useless Shadow Ball and Confusion.

So my new trio is Blaziken, Flygon, and Gardevoir. It's Gardevoir's debut at the Battle Frontier and she is perfect for this because she has a Brave Nature, just like Flygon. Blaziken has a Hasty Nature, but that works out just fine. It's frustrating when they use Bulk Up or Calm Mind, though, when I desperately want them to use an attack and finish off that little itty bitty sliver of health.

Half the time, I find myself shouting at the screen. At least at the Battle Dome I could choose the moves.

I hate this. But it's mercifully short. 21 wins for Silver, 42 wins for Gold. I'm guessing even the developers realized how unfun it was to watch a Pokemon fight without your input.

The Frontier Brain this time around is SPENSER. He has Crobat, Slaking, and Lapras. Gardevoir had trouble with Crobat and his Double Team, but her move finally hit it and did major damage. I left Slaking to Flygon and Lapras to Blaziken. Lapras didn't know any Water-Type moves, but I swear its Horn Drill hit one too many times.

Either way, I won the Silver Spirits Symbol.

Second time was _hell._

Suicune is the new Latias. I didn't think it was possible, but it is. I hate Suicune.

The second time fighting him, SPENSER has Arcanine, Slaking, and _Suicune_. Because, you know, if _I'm_ not allowed legendaries, then of course the Frontier Brains should absolutely have them!

Arcanine is a pain when I have Blaziken fighting him and Blaziken uses Blaze Kick like an idiot and powers up Arcanine's Flash Fire Ability. But I can manage with Flygon's Earthquake.

The problem is he goes right into Suicune.

Suicune has Surf and Blizzard, which one-hit kill Blaziken and Flygon respectively. I had Gardevoir to combat him, but his Special Defense is crazy high and he's really fast, and Gardevoir can only tank three Surfs and since he's holding King's Rock there's a chance Gardevoir will flinch and if he uses Calm Mind he hits harder and takes hits better...

I hate Suicune.

I lost, and it made me angry that I had to do the whole thing over again.

Two times...

Three times...

Five times...

Nine times...

* * *

Finally, I got him.

Not through skill. Oh, no no no. It was through luck.

Sheer dumb luck.

The trick is to fight with Flygon, get an Earthquake in and have Suicune miss with Blizzard since that's all he uses, then switch out to Blaziken. Blaziken dies, but then switch out to Gardevoir and Thunder Punch and pray until it works and leaves you with Slaking. Then pray some more that Slaking can't use its power while fighting it with Flygon so you can Earthquake his ass over and over and survive its Yawn.

And you win.

That's how it went down. Dumb luck on this roulette wheel of hell.

Give me that Gold Spirits Symbol.

I'm never coming back here, old man.

* * *

Keeping it going, I head north to a more reasonable facility. The Battle Arena. It's such a breath of fresh air to finally get to choose what moves my Pokemon use. No more, 'incapable of using its power' here. Just pure, unfettered fighting.

I love it already.

It's not without its rules. You cna't switch out your Pokemon for one, and two you need to battle based on a judging sysytem. After three rounds, if neither Pokemon is knocked out, you're judged by Mind, Skill, and Body. Just keep your Health up and land consistent Super-Effective hits and you're fine.

I went with Blaziken, Flygon, and Gardevoir. With Thunder Punch and Ice Punch, she's a real powerhouse.

I swept through the Battle Arena. The opponents rarely got to Gardevoir. This time, I can challenge the Frontier Brain, GRETA, after 28 wins. Then 56 wins for the Gold. Her Pokemon are Heracross, Umbreon, and Shedinja. I have Flygon taking on Heracross, Flygon and Gardevoir and Blaziken teaming up on Umbreon, and Blaziken finishing up Shedinja. Its Wonder Guard is no match for Blaziken's Aerial Ace.

I rearranged my Pokemon accordingly.

* * *

...And lost.

Turns out, I had my Pokemon arranged all wrong.

What I should have done was have Blaziken stick out the fight with Heracross and use Bulk Up two times before finishing off with Aerial Ace. Why?

Because Umbreon has crazy Defense and Special Defense. Good God, this thing is a monster.

But by Bulking Up Blaziken and tanking Heracross' weak attacks, I was able to super charge his Double Kick. Even then, Umbreon would have tanked it, if not for a lucky lucky Critical Hit that killed that thing dead. Then Shedinja stepped out and I used Aerial Ace and watched its Health disappear.

The Silver Guts Symbol is mine, GRETA.

I need to watch out for her Umbreon, though. I'll have to fight it again the second time. Only she'll also have a Gengar and a Breloom with sleep-inducing moves.

I'll really need to think about this one...


	9. Ninth Day

Did you miss me? ...No? Fair enough.

* * *

NINTH DAY

* * *

Hey, I'm back! I swore I'd get the seven battle symbols and I'm not quitting when the end is practically in sight!

Last time, I was prepping for my second battle with GRETA at the Battle Arena. Umbreon is still as annoying as ever and so is Gengar, so what I need is a strategy dependent on held items.

I've studied their moves, and I'm convinced that my best bet at winning the Gold Guts Symbol is the following line-up:

Blaziken (holding Persim Berry), Gardevoir (holding Chesto Berry), and Flygon (holding Lum Berry).

Logically speaking, I know Umbreon is going to hit Blaziken with Confuse Ray on the first turn. But with the Persim Berry, it'll waste its first move and give me two shots at Double Kicking its ass. Of course, it'll probably use Rest to make all my damage moot, but that'll mean two of its three moves will be spent getting it back to normal and dealing NO damage. In terms of the judging, Blaziken will win.

Next is Gengar, countered by my Gardevoir. Gengar only has one ghost-type move, and it relies on putting Gardevoir to sleep. So I gave her a Chesto Berry. Not to mention, her Synchronize Ability will link up Gengar with whatever is inflicted upon her. Gengar's Special Defense is pretty low, so Gardevoir's Psychic should tidy him up quite nicely.

As for Breloom, the only concern is if he puts my Pokemon to sleep with Spore or flinch spam them with Headbutt. Flygon's Fly will be doubly effective against Breloom, so I'm not too worried.

After 56, I was ready to beat GRETA.

* * *

Done. The Gold Guts Symbol is mine. Once I was past Umbreon, the hardest part was over.

In between the Battle Arena and the next facility, I flew back to the main region to do some future planning.

Beating the Brains is all well and good, but the Battle Tower is getting closer and closer, so I figured I'd do some training to set myself up for it.

ANABEL is supposedly the toughest of the tough, and she has a Snorlax and a fricken Latios the second time around. After my episode with TUCKER's Latias, I know how terrifying these things can be. And this time, I _HAVE_ to fight it. But its Special Attack and Special Defense are too darn high, and it knows Calm Mind. My Only hope is to hit it with Physical Super-Effective Moves, like Bug or Ghost, but none of my Pokemon know those.

So I made another choice.

_Shedinja..._

Remember Shedinja? I used him to beat WATTSON's Manectric way back when. His Wonder Guard will be put to good use once more. Looking at Latios' moveset, it shouldn't be able to bypass Shedinja's Wonder Guard. But to help whittle down Latios faster, I'm going to teach it the TM Toxic that I've been carrying since the Fiery Path. At Level 32, he'll learn Shadow Ball and he already knows Fury Cutter. It's the perfect counter weapon.

There's only one problem. Shedinja is at level 20. I need to bring him up to level 50 and improve his stats for him to be ready for the Battle Frontier.

To help with that, I gave him Pokerus from the Koffing I kept stored in my PC and gave him the EXP Share. I also have about 16 Rare Candies that I may as well blow on this. What else am I going to use them for?

I'll level up Shedinja steadily with the Gym Leader rematches, but I'll do it carefully so that the rest of my Pokemon don't get past level 50. Then I'll finish up with the rare candies. I already taught him Toxic and got him up to level 31 before going back to the Battle Frontier to resume my streak.

* * *

Next up, the Battle Pyramid.

The Gimmick here is that you have to ascend 7 floors of Trainers and Wild Pokemon with only three of your own. No healing, but there are items scattered about. The screen is also dark, brightening up bit by bit after you defeat a Wild Pokemon or Trainer, and if you beat a Trainer, they'll give you little tips, like how many items are left on the current floor, how many trainers are left on the current floor, or which direction the exit is hiding.

Besides the Battle Pike, I think this is my favorite facility. I just found it fun to manage my supplies. I also have to switch out my Pokemon to counter the types of Wild Pokemon I'm predicted to encounter. There's a lady who'll foretell what types I'll have to deal with. I changed up my line-up based on what she said.

1st, Pokemon that Paralyze. Went in with Flygon's Earthquake.

2nd, Pokemon that Poison. Went in with Flygon's Earthquake and Gardevoir's Psychic.

3rd, Pokemon that Burn. Went in with Flygon's Earthquake, Blaziken, and Aggron.

The reason I went with the other two is because the third time around (or after 21 floors) I have to face BRANDON at the top. I reserved a couple of Hyper Potions, Ethers, and Revives for this, burning a Sacred Ash I was lucky to find in order to revive all my Pokemon to full health. One good thing about battling BRANDON is that you can use the items you've gathered from the floors. Revives, Hyper Potions, and Full Restores are all fair game.

Good thing, too. Because I'm facing BRANDON and his trio of Regi's.

I had Flygon square off against Regirock, but Regirock used Explosion right after I hit him with Earthquake, killing us both.

Next up was Registeel. Blaziken took him on while wearing a Choice Band I was lucky to have picked up on the floors. Double Kick did massive damage and Blaziken survived Registeel's Earthquake to boot. Bye-bye Registeel.

Last was Regice. Blaziken was too weak and was killed by Ice Beam, but Aggron was bringing up the rear and was able to smoke Regice with a well-timed Iron Tail.

And just like that, the Silver Brave Symbol was mine.

Gold would be a bit trickier. Challenging BRANDON a second time would first require me to beat 70 floors of the Battle Pyramid. Once again, I had to change up my line-up depending on what Pokemon I have to encounter (and I swear every trainer has a water-type Pokemon with Surf, Earthquake, and Ice Beam). The amount of Pokemon they can kill is staggering, and I lost once or twice on my battle to the top.

Here's what I did in response to the Pokemon I encountered.

4th, Pokemon that Reduce PP. I went with Blaziken and Flygon just because they had a widespread moveset to take out ghost and normal types.

5th, Pokemon with Levitate. Glalie, Sharpedo, and Gardevoir, only because they knew Crunch and Gardevoir had Psychic.

6th, Pokemon with Trapping Abilities. God, this was a pain. I couldn't run. Thankfully, most of the wild Pokemon were covered by Ludicolo. I love Ludicolo.

I took a break to go to the move tutor in the Battle Frontier and exchange Battle Points so Aggron can learn Rock Slide. It'll need it to take on BRANDON's new trio of Pokemon. I swapped Headbutt for Rock Slide.

7th, Ice-Type Pokemon. Blaziken, Aggron, and Gardevoir. Fire, Fighting, Steel, Rock, Electric. They cover all the weaknesses.

8th, Pokemon with Selfdestruct and Explosion. Aggron. Aggron can tank all these ticking time-bomb Pokemon like they're nothing. Thank you, Aggron.

9th, Psychic-Type Pokemon. Again, Aggron can tank it. But I threw in Flygon and Gardevoir too.

10th, Rock-Type Pokemon. This was actually the easiest time for me because of Ludicolo. I used all my PP Up's on Ludicolo's Surf and Giga Drain and both can completely wreck rock types, so I'm good there.

But this 10th time also marks the second time I'll face BRANDON for the Gold Brave Symbol, so I have to adjust my party. I'll be facing a new trio of legendaries. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. I've been saving up Hyper Potions and Revives for this...

Aggron can kill Articuno with Rock Slide. Articuno's Water Pulse is super-effective against him, but he can take it. So long as it isn't Surf.

Gardevoir's Ice Punch can whittle down Zapdos.

Ludicolo's Surf can destroy Moltres.

And if anything bad happens, I have a good surplus of items as a safety net.

In no time at all, the Golden Brave Symbol was mine.

* * *

I have 6 Frontier Symbols. Only the Battle Tower Remains. The last hurtle...

Will I get my Shedinja up to snuff to take on Latios? Will I even make it past the 70 Battle streak to gold? And what about ANABEL's last line of defense, Snorlax?

Next time, the thrilling conclusion to my Pokemon Emerald Challenge.


	10. Tenth Day

It all comes down to this...

* * *

TENTH DAY

* * *

Before me stands the Battle Tower. The final hurtle in my Battle Frontier Challenge. The other facilities and Frontier Brains were formidable, but they were just warm-ups for this.

I'm not quite ready with my Shedinja, but I need to bide my time for the Gym Leader rematches so I can better train him.

So, while I'm waiting, I may as well jump right into my streak.

The Battle Tower is pure, 3 vs 3 battles. Got to use my go-to trinity for this challenge.

Blaziken. Flygon. Ludicolo.

These three are just so balanced in their movesets. Their strengths, their weaknesses. It's an impenetrable defense.

...Unless I encounter a Scyther.

...Or a Salamence.

...Or a Flygon.

To answer your question, yes, I encountered these problem Pokemon and lost on more than one attempt. I think the Battle Tower adjusts itself to throw Pokemon at you that are _only_ super-effective. Exactly how were ten-year-olds supposed to win!?

Well, I somehow clawed my way through a streak and prepared for my first fight with ANABEL.

I get a shot at the Silver Ability Symbol after 35 wins and I plan my Pokemon accordingly.

First, is ANABEL's Alakazam. He doesn't have any Psychic attacks but he has the trinity of elemental punch moves. Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, and Fire Punch. Therefore, I went with Ludicolo first. Ludicolo has good special defense, can inflict a first attack with Fake Out, can heal itself with Giga Drain, and deal massive damage with Surf and its held item, Mystic Water.

Next is... Entei? Okay, why do all these Frontier Brains have legendaries, but I can't enter Rayquaza or Kyogre if I wanted to? Frick Frack, I call hacks.

Thankfully, Entei can be taken out through a combination of Ludicolo's Surf and Flygon's Earthquake. Not a problem. I actually had Ludicolo take out both Alakazam AND Entei, leaving my last two Pokemon fresh for her third Pokemon, Snorlax.

Snorlax this time around isn't that tough. Blaziken and Flygon had to work together, but Double Kick and Earthquake did the trick and killed this fatty dead.

The Silver Ability Symbol was mine. Just like that.

Next, the Gold.

* * *

But I still need to wait for the Gym Leaders to get more training in for Shedinja. I NEED him against ANABEL's Latios.

So I find stuff to do. With all the Silver Symbols on hand, I visit the creeper SCOTT and he rewards me with a super-mega-ultra-rare Lansat berry. Cool! I'll be sure to keep it in my Inventory and never plant it since if I'm not vigilant the berry will just wither and die, gone forever.

I don't like that feature to berry planting...

I checked and SCOTT actually gives out Silver and Gold Shields if you get enough of a win streak at the Battle Tower. I can snag the Silver Shield since it's within the streak for the Gold Symbol, but the Gold Shield needs 100 wins.

Don't know if I'm that committed.

* * *

Okay, I've waited long enough.

The Gym Leaders are taking their sweet time for the rematches, so instead I'm gonna train Shedinjawith the Trainer Rematches I get on the Match Call function of my Pokenav. I'm also lending him an Experience Share while he has Pokerus, so his attack and speed stats should be powerful enough to do damage.

I brought him up to Level 50 with my Rare Candies and taught him Toxic, Shadow Ball, Fury Cutter, and Confuse Ray.

He's ready.

For the Gold Ability Symbol, I need a 70 win streak. I use the same go-to trinity and win enough times to earn the Silver Shield from SCOTT as well as some ribbons. No other facility does this.

After a few more tough battles, I finally get to the point where I can use Shedinja with Flygon and Blaziken. It's funny, because the opponent trainers' AI is smart enough to swap out if they don't have an attack that can bypass Shedinja's god-like Wonder Guard. More than once, I find myself calmly finishing a battle with Shedinja, knowing the opponent's Pokemon can't touch me. It allows me to experiment with Toxic, Confuse Ray, and Fury Cutter, which gets stronger and stronger on each successive hit. It's awesome!

In no time at all, I'm facing ANABEL for the Gold Ability Symbol.

Her Pokemon this time around are Raikou (legendary bullsh*t), Latios (what the hell!?), and Snorlax.

Thanks to my prep, however, my only concern is the Snorlax which has Rest, Curse, Shadow Ball, and Return. It also has Immunity this battle, so Shedinja's Toxic is powerless.

First up, I have my Flygon square off against Raikou. Raikou only has electric attacks, so Flygon is immune and can kill it with Earthquake. But, in a suprising twist, ANABEL switches out her Raikou for Latios, my Earthquake missing due to its Levitate.

In response, I switch to Shedinja whose Wonder Guard dodges Latios' Dragon Claw and Psychic.

Then ANABEL switches again to Snorlax, the only Pokemon in her party with a move that can bypass Shedinja's Wonder Guard. I can't lose Shedinja as he's my only chance against Latios, so I swap in my Blaziken. Snorlas bolsters its defense, but Blaziken can bolster himself too with Bulk Up. Then I finish off Snorlax with a lucky crit on Double Kick.

The rest is smooth sailing. Shedinja takes down Latios with Shadow Ball and Toxic and Flygon can't be touched by Raikou.

Just like that, the Gold Ability Symbol is mine.

I got them all!

* * *

NOLAND at the Battle Factory: The Knowledge Symbol.

LUCY at the Battle Pike: The Luck Symbol.

TUCKER at the Battle Dome: The Tactics Symbol.

SPENSER at the Battle Palace: The Spirits Symbol.

GRETA at the Battle Arena: The Guts Symbol.

BRANDON at the Battle Pyramid: The Brave Symbol.

And finally, ANABEL at the Battle Tower: The Ability Symbol.

I've conquered them, after all these years, and have filled my Frontier Pass with their golden gleam.

And for my accomplishment, I'm awarded the Starf Berry from SCOTT.

...Cool, I guess. Still not gonna plant it.

It took a lot of free time and planning to get this far, but it's done.

And now, with all seven symbols and my Battle Frontier challenge completed...

I think I'm gonna go challenge Steven in Meteor Falls!

Bring it ooooooooon!

* * *

**Cobb Whited Out...**


End file.
